Georgia S.H.A.P.E

The Atlanta Braves teamed up with Governor Nathan Deal, the Arthur Blank Foundation, the Georgia Department of Education, the Department of Community Health and the Division of Public Health, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Atlanta Falcons to launch Georgia S.H.A.P.E. - the Georgia Student Health and Physical Education Program. This partnership promotes childhood fitness and builds a culture of wellness among the state's youth.

Braves mascot Homer helped to kick off the program at White County Intermediate School with a Fitness Pep Rally. Braves third baseman Chipper Jones lent his support to SHAPE with a video encouraging youth, parents and schools to get excited about the program.

The SHAPE partnership is an innovative approach to getting Georgia kids fit and on a path to healthy living. This initiative puts the state of Georgia on the leading edge of innovation in addressing this health problem.

SHAPE generates data through Fitnessgram, an internationally recognized assessment that measures the strength, flexibility and endurance of students in physical education classes. Reports place kids in the "healthy fitness zone" or "needs improvement" area on each test. Sophisticated data management helps students and parents chart improvement.

The benefit of Fitnessgram is that it does not reward specific athletic skills or promote a particular body image. Instead, it determines fitness.

The goal is to get 100% of schools in Georgia to participate in the SHAPE program in an effort to pave the way for more than 1 million Georgia schoolchildren to improve their physical fitness and classroom performance.

Throughout the school year, the Braves will provide students with various incentives including Braves tickets for getting in SHAPE. For more information on Georgia S.H.A.P.E., visit www.georgiashape.org.